Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Pakistan: Women

Baroness Cox: To ask His Majesty's Government what stepsthey are taking with international partnersto address the incidenceof abduction, forced conversion, and forced marriage of young girls and women from religious minorities in Pakistan.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We continue to urge the government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people in Pakistan, particularly marginalised groups including women, minorities and children, as laid down in the Constitution of Pakistan and in accordance with international standards.  Protecting the rights of women and girls is central to the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. UK programme funds are helping to address gender-based violence by raising awareness of early and forced marriages, tackling online hate speech, and making digital spaces safer for women.  The British High Commission in Islamabad will continue to support civil society and NGOs in lobbying the Government of Pakistan to honour its international commitments.

Gulf Strategy Fund

Lord Scriven: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the allocated budget under the Gulf Strategy Fund for (1) Saudi Arabia, (2) Bahrain, and(3) the United Arab Emirates,for 2023–2024.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The present country allocation from the Gulf Strategy Fund for Saudi Arabia is £2,345,000, Bahrain £1,475,000 and the United Arab Emirates £1,173,000.

Department of Health and Social Care

Children: Abuse

Baroness Hodgson of Abinger: To ask His Majesty's Government how manyinfants admitted to the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust in each of the past five years were subject to investigation under its guidelines regarding suspected abuse in children;of those, how many were identified as having been subjected to abuse; and whether this figure is similarly reflected in other trusts across the country.

Lord Markham: Somerset NHS Foundation Trust guidelines define abuse and neglect as forms of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. All staff have a responsibility to safeguard children at risk of abuse or neglect in the National Health Service. This involves protecting children from maltreatment and preventing impairment of children’s health and development. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust does not hold data on the number of infants admitted in the past five years subject to investigation regarding suspected abuse or the number of infants identified as subjected to abuse. NHS England also does not collect the data requested.

Women and Equalities

Gender Recognition

Baroness Barker: To ask His Majesty's Government what are the details of each meeting since 1 December 2021 between (1) the Minister for Women and Equalities, and (2) the Equality and Human Rights Commission, regarding possible amendments to the Gender Recognition Act 2004, including but not limited to meetings about the list of approved countries and territories which would be considered valid for applications under section 1(1)(b) of the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

Baroness Barran: In reference to discussions with EHRC with regards to the Countries list SI, I refer back to the previous answer to UIN 5635 on 14th December.More broadly, as is the case with previous administrations, it is a long-established precedent that granular information about ministerial meetings is not disclosed. Equality Hub Ministers do however, engage regularly with the EHRC.

Gender Recognition

Baroness Barker: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the statement by the Minister for Women and Equalities on 6 December (HC Deb cols 359–60), which organisations she consulted about amending the list of approved countries and territories which would be considered valid for applications under section 1(1)(b) of the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

Baroness Barran: I refer back to the previous answer to UIN 5635 given on 14th December.

Cabinet Office

Benjamin Netanyahu

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government when the Prime Minister last spoke to the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Prime Minister spoke to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 5 December 2023. A readout is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-call-with-prime-minister-netanyahu-of-israel-5-december-2023.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Housing: Disability

Lord Shinkwin: To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made since theannouncement in July 2022that they intended to raise the regulatory baseline for the accessibility of all new homes to the M4(2) accessible and adaptable standard.

Lord Shinkwin: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend torevise the National Planning Policy Framework to explicitly require local plans to include a policy and target for new wheelchair-accessible homes of the M4(3) standard.

Baroness Penn: The Government has set out its intention to mandate higher accessibility standards for all new homes by raising the minimum standard in Building Regulations in England in due course. The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that local planning authorities should assess the housing needs for different groups, including people with disabilities, and reflect these in their policies and decisions. Guidance was introduced in June 2019 to help councils implement this policy. The Framework encourages planning policies that make use of the Government’s optional technical standards for accessible and adaptable housing, including M4(3) compliant homes, which can be provided where local plans have identified and evidenced a need for wheelchair-user dwellings.Higher accessibility standards for all new homes (pdf, 283.8KB)

Department for Transport

Logistics

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they havemade of the value of the logistics sector to the economy.

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the impact on the economy of any decline in the UK's ranking in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Department for Transport has not made an assessment of the economic impact of the decline in the UK’s ranking in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI).According to the latest available data published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the Transport and Storage Sector contributed £83.5 billion Gross Value Added to the UK economy in 2021. It should be noted that this figure includes some sub-sectors not specific to logistics. A breakdown by sub-sector is available within the ONS published Annual Business Survey statistics.

Large Goods Vehicles: Parking

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made ofthe level of utilisation of lorry parking at on-site facilities.

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what forecasts they have made of thelevel of utilisation of lorry parking at on-site facilities for each year up to 2030.

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relationshipbetween the quantity and quality of lorry parking facilities and the (1) number, and (2) diversity, of lorry drivers.

Lord Davies of Gower: The National Survey of Lorry Parking, which was published on 29th September 2022, is our primary evidence base to understand what improvements to lorry parking facilities are most needed and where they are needed. The survey showed an average shortage of 4,068 HGV parking spaces for the month of March 2022, and identified driver concerns with the quality of welfare facilities and security of lorry parks.HGV driver numbers are stabilising. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes data from the Annual Population Survey on the number of HGV drivers in the UK; these are published on a quarterly basis. In the year July 2022 to June 2023 there were 287,600 HGV drivers. There were 19,500 fewer HGV drivers compared to the year July 2018 to June 2019. This is significantly up from the height of the HGV driver shortage where there were 271,800 drivers in the year January 2021 to December 2021.In respect of diversity, the ONS’ Annual Population Survey showed that 2% of HGV drivers were women, and that 35% of HGV drivers were over the age of 55 with 17% of the workforce under the age of 35.To investigate the issue further, we commissioned a rapid evidence review of recruitment and retention issues in the HGV driver workforce, which found that a lack of or poor facilities was perceived to be one of the most important barriers to recruitment and retention.Therefore, the Government recognises the need to ensure all hauliers have access to appropriate services and facilities, including to attract and retain a more diverse workforce.That is why lorry drivers will soon benefit from improved roadside facilities and safer rest areas thanks to up to £100 million investment from industry and Government via the ‘HGV parking and welfare grant scheme’ and National Highways funding to improve roadside facilities. This funding will support operators to make improvements, such as better security, showers and eating facilities, as well as possibly increasing spaces for lorry drivers.On 11 September, we announced 39 successful applications who will potentially receive up to *£7 million in government funding from the first application window of the HGV parking and driver welfare grant scheme. Bids received were for improvements to welfare facilities, enhanced security as well as increased parking capacity.Window 2 closed on 20 November and applications are currently being reviewed.The Department continues to engage with key stakeholders to encourage the development of more safe, secure, and high-quality lorry parking to improve driver welfare.

High Speed 2 Line

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government how manylocal authoritieshavealready had, or have requested, meetings with Ministers about financial pressures following the cancellation of the northern leg of HS2; and which arethose local authorities.

Lord Davies of Gower: Minister Merriman met Cheshire East Council, at their request, on 29 November to discuss the details of the Network North Announcement, as part of which Cheshire East will receive a funding boost of more than £2.2 million for bus services in the area and a £110m uplift over 11 years for local road maintenance, in addition to benefitting from other Network North programmes.

Electric Scooters: Public Places

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the illegal use of privately owned e-scooters driven in public places, and what measures they intend to take to impose penalties for their illegal use.

Lord Davies of Gower: Private e-scooters remain illegal to use on public roads, cycle lanes and pavements. Those riding illegally are subject to the same road traffic offences and penalties for unlawful use as all other motor vehicles. Users can face fixed penalty notices, criminal prosecution, points on their driving licence, and having their e-scooter seized. How resources are deployed to tackle illegal riding is a matter for Chief Officers according to local policing plans.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Lord Rooker: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of protective earthed neutral faults in public and street chargers for electric vehicles.

Lord Davies of Gower: Safety requirements relating to protective earthed neutral faults, including those for electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints, are covered by The Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002, BS 7671 Requirements for Electrical Installations, the Institution of Engineering and Technology's code of practice for EV Charging Equipment, and the Energy Networks Association’s Engineering Recommendation G12. The Government has not undertaken any separate risk assessment of protective earthed neutral faults in EV chargepoints.